Lilly Pulitzer

Lillian Pulitzer Rousseau (November 10, 1931 – April 7, 2013) was an American entrepreneur, fashion designer, and socialite. She founded Lilly Pulitzer, Inc., which produces floral print clothing and other wares. Career Lilly and husband Herbert Pulitzer settled in Palm Beach, Florida, shortly after their marriage. They owned several Florida orange groves and, with produce from these, she opened a fruit juice stand on Via Mizner in Palm Beach. While working at the stand, Pulitzer found that squeezing juice made a mess of her clothes. Seeking to camouflage the juice stains, Lilly asked her dressmaker to design a dress that would camouflage the stains. She discovered that customers loved her dress, so she produced more to sell at her juice stand. Eventually, she was selling more dresses than juice, and decided to focus on designing and selling what had become known as her "Lillys". In 1959, Pulitzer became president of her own company, Lilly Pulitzer, Inc. The company's main factory was in Miami, Florida, and the fabrics were produced by the Key West Hand Print Fabrics company in Key West. Over 85% of Pulitzer's prints were designed by Suzie Zuzek, the designer for Key West Hand Prints. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, Pulitzer's bright, colorful clothes were very popular, worn by people such as former classmate Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her daughter Caroline Kennedy; and members of the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Whitney families. After Jackie was featured in Life wearing one of Lilly's shifts, many preppy ladies followed her lead. The Jacqueline dress is one of Lilly Pulitzer's most successful styles. Lilly later stated that the first shift dress Jackie was photographed in was made of kitchen curtains. By 1984, Lilly closed down the entire clothing operation.